Israel claims Iran expanding uranium enrichment despite new president

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu claims Iran is expanding its enrichment of uranium despite a call by Iran’s new President Hassan Rohani for talks on the country’s nuclear energy program.
“I know that some place their hopes on Iran’s new president… and yesterday he called for more talks,” Netanyahu said on Wednesday.
“And while everybody is busy talking to him... the centrifuges will keep on spinning,” he told a pro-Israeli congressional delegation headed by US Representative James Sensenbrenner.
The Israeli prime minister also called for increased pressure on Iran, claiming it is the only thing that could deter Tehran from what he termed as “work and quest towards the achievement of atomic weapons.”
In a press conference in Tehran on Tuesday, Rohani called for “serious talks with foreign parties” on West’s dispute over Iran’s nuclear energy program, but warned that negotiations would not work under pressure.
The Iranian president, who took office on August 4, said that the Islamic Republic is closely monitoring all measures taken by the United States and will respond properly to Washington’s “practical and constructive” moves.
Rohani called on Washington to hear the Iranian nation’s message, saying, “If we see that the US is serious in resolving the problems, we will also be serious.”
He also voiced readiness to hold talks with any country within the framework of the Islamic Republic’s national interests.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov welcomed the Iranian president’s nuclear stance, saying Moscow "absolutely agrees" that the nuclear issue should be resolved peacefully, not via ultimatums.
He also called on the P5+1 group -- Britain, China, France, Russia and the US plus Germany -- to throw its support behind the attitude of the new Iranian administration.
The United States, Israel, and some of their allies have repeatedly accused Iran of pursuing non-civilian objectives in its nuclear energy program and have used the unfounded accusation as a pretext to impose illegal sanctions on the Islamic Republic.
Iran rejects the allegations, arguing that as a committed signatory to the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) and a member of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), it has the right to use nuclear technology for peaceful purposes.
In addition, the IAEA has conducted numerous inspections of Iran’s nuclear facilities but has never found any evidence showing that Iran’s civilian nuclear program has been diverted to nuclear weapons production.
The Israeli regime is widely believed to be the only possessor of nuclear weapons in the Middle East. The regime reportedly maintains between 200 and 400 atomic warheads, but under its policy of so-called nuclear ambiguity, it has never denied nor confirmed its possession of the weapons of mass destruction.
Furthermore, Tel Aviv has never allowed any inspection of its nuclear facilities and continues to defy international calls to join the NPT.
MRS/MHB